Young people around God

ITO Canada 2022

I have rarely seen this outburst of joy in this generation of "millenians", who seem to only show their emotions "electronically". Undisguised and altruistic joy and the feeling of childhood and youth protected and the joy of being cherished and listened to is what one could contemplate among those present.

And if my eyes were tear-stained and my hand was unsteady on the phone, it was because the emotion overwhelmed me to see them so close around the ineffable God to whom we all secretly yearn in one form or another.

Organized by the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada with the blessing and direct involvement of His Grace Bishop Ioan Casian, the II edition of the Orthodox Youth Meeting (ITO) – Canada, September 16-18, 2022, having as patron-saints Sts. Ioan Iacob Hozevitul and Dionysius of Cetatea Albă – Ismail, brought together 27 young participants from parishes in Ontario and Quebec and was hosted by the Center "The Valley of The Mother of God" of the Coptic Church in Mono, Ontario.

The host center is located near a place dear to Romanians in Canada, the Monastery of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross and St. Ephraim the New, which celebrated its feast day during this period. Participating in the pilgrimage and the Divine Liturgy, and at the same time having presents HG Bishop Ioan Casian, Protosyncellus Maxim Morariu ecclesiarch of the eparchial Cathedral and Hieromonk Polycarp Athenagoras who was their welcoming host at the monastery, the young participants enjoyed the teaching words, the painting and thematic activities, the sports Olympics and the inevitable campfire.

The involvement and exhortation of the Canadian hierarch in the organization of camps and educational activities dedicated to young adults and children, the sustained investment in the formation and education of the young generation of Canadian Romanians is a priority in the life of the Romanian Orthodox Diocese of Canada; and the excitement of being together, the joy of praying and making friends, remain the gifts that every educational activity leaves behind for the strengthening in the Orthodox faith of the generations that are now being formed in Canada.

It was two and a half days full of joy, sports competitions, prayer together and the beauty of youth lived in the spirit of Orthodox spirituality.

Final whistle for the 2022 edition!

Thank God for everything!

(notes by Carmen Ognean)